0
Usenet Posted 23 years ago
Usage
DE Dackel vs. EN dachshund
Greetings.
During lunch with my German colleagues today the following question arose: why is it that English has adopted a German word, "Dachshund" (lit. "badger dog"), to refer to a particular breed of long-bodied, short-legged German dogs, when German itself does not use this word for the same breed? The German term for dachshund is "Dackel", which is probably much easier for English speakers to pronounce, at least from spelling. (Except for the velar fricative , the English "Dachshund" has largely retained its German pronunciation; a more phonetic spelling would be something like "doxhoont" or "doxhoond", though "daxund" is also sometimes heard. In any case, it isn't pronounced much like the way it's spelled according to typical English rules.)
I've got etymological dictionaries for English but not for German. Merriam-Webster says that "dachshund" entered English around 1882. Was this also the name used for this breed in German at that time, with Dackel being a later invention? If so, why the name change? Seems "Dachshund" ought to have stuck, since the dogs were, after all, used for hunting badgers. If not, why the disparity in terminology? If "Dackel" was the proper German name for the dog in 1882, why didn't it win out over "Dachshund"?
Regards,
Tristan
V.-o Tristan Miller (en,(fr,de,ia)) >`-' -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= <> In a haiku, so it's hard (7 \\ http://www.nothingisreal.com/ >
During lunch with my German colleagues today the following question arose: why is it that English has adopted a German word, "Dachshund" (lit. "badger dog"), to refer to a particular breed of long-bodied, short-legged German dogs, when German itself does not use this word for the same breed? The German term for dachshund is "Dackel", which is probably much easier for English speakers to pronounce, at least from spelling. (Except for the velar fricative , the English "Dachshund" has largely retained its German pronunciation; a more phonetic spelling would be something like "doxhoont" or "doxhoond", though "daxund" is also sometimes heard. In any case, it isn't pronounced much like the way it's spelled according to typical English rules.)
I've got etymological dictionaries for English but not for German. Merriam-Webster says that "dachshund" entered English around 1882. Was this also the name used for this breed in German at that time, with Dackel being a later invention? If so, why the name change? Seems "Dachshund" ought to have stuck, since the dogs were, after all, used for hunting badgers. If not, why the disparity in terminology? If "Dackel" was the proper German name for the dog in 1882, why didn't it win out over "Dachshund"?
Regards,
Tristan
V.-o Tristan Miller (en,(fr,de,ia)) >`-' -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= <> In a haiku, so it's hard (7 \\ http://www.nothingisreal.com/ >
Top answer
[nq:1]During lunch with my German colleagues today the following question arose: why is it that English has adopted a German ... [/nq] So it is for German speakers. "Dachshund" is still extant (and still means the same dog), but the shorter forms "Teckel" and "Dackel" have evolved from it in the 18th and 19th centuries, respectively (according to Kluge, Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache).
- [nq:1]During lunch with my German colleagues today the following question arose: why is it that English has adopted a German ...
- [/nq] So it is for German speakers.
- "Dachshund" is still extant (and still means the same dog), but the shorter forms "Teckel" and "Dackel" have evolved from it in the 18th and 19th centuries, respectively (according to Kluge, Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache).
- e.
- "x") both in English and in German, isn't it?
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
65 Answers
0
[nq:1]During lunch with my German colleagues today the following question arose: why is it that English has adopted a German ... German term for dachshund is "Dackel", which is probably much easier for English speakers to pronounce, at least from spelling.[/nq]
So it is for German speakers. "Dachshund" is still extant (and still means the same dog), but the shorter forms "Teckel" and "Dackel"
So it is for German speakers. "Dachshund" is still extant (and still means the same dog), but the shorter forms "Teckel" and "Dackel"
00
I've heard "DACK-sh'nd" ('d&kS@nd) in BrE.
And isn't it a throat-cleary "DAKHS-hoont" ('daxshunt) in German?
Ross Howard
And isn't it a throat-cleary "DAKHS-hoont" ('daxshunt) in German?
Ross Howard
00
[nq:1]Except for the velar fricative , the English "Dachshund" has largely retained its German pronunciation[/nq]
The /ch/ in Dachshund is regularly pronounced (k), so these letters are pronounced the same in both languages. This is usually not true with the vowels as you know and with the final -d which becomes voiceless as all consonants at the end of a German word.
Dackel was formed at
The /ch/ in Dachshund is regularly pronounced (k), so these letters are pronounced the same in both languages. This is usually not true with the vowels as you know and with the final -d which becomes voiceless as all consonants at the end of a German word.
Dackel was formed at
00
[nq:1]Except for the velar fricative , the English "Dachshund" has largely retained its German pronunciation[/nq]
The /ch/ in Dachshund is regularly pronounced (k), so these letters are pronounced the same in both languages. This is usually not true with the vowels, as you know, and with the final -d which becomes voiceless as all consonants at the end of a German word.
Dackel was formed a
The /ch/ in Dachshund is regularly pronounced (k), so these letters are pronounced the same in both languages. This is usually not true with the vowels, as you know, and with the final -d which becomes voiceless as all consonants at the end of a German word.
Dackel was formed a
00
[nq:1]I've heard "DACK-sh'nd" ('d&kS@nd) in BrE. And isn't it a throat-cleary "DAKHS-hoont" ('daxshunt) in German?[/nq]
It's sort of docks-hoont or more precisely ("dakshUnt) in German.
Gerd
It's sort of docks-hoont or more precisely ("dakshUnt) in German.
Gerd
00
[nq:2]"Dachshund" is pronounced with a (ks) (i.e. "x") both in English and in German, isn't it?[/nq]
[nq:1]I've heard "DACK-sh'nd" ('d&kS@nd) in BrE.[/nq]
What an odd word to get a spelling pronunciation!
[nq:1]And isn't it a throat-cleary "DAKHS-hoont" ('daxshunt) in German? [/nq]
Peter T. Daniels (Email Removed)
[nq:1]I've heard "DACK-sh'nd" ('d&kS@nd) in BrE.[/nq]
What an odd word to get a spelling pronunciation!
[nq:1]And isn't it a throat-cleary "DAKHS-hoont" ('daxshunt) in German? [/nq]
Peter T. Daniels (Email Removed)
00
[nq:1]During lunch with my German colleagues today the following question arose: why is it that English has adopted a German ... a particular breed of long-bodied, short-legged German dogs, when German itself does not use this word for the same breed?[/nq]
The explantion is, as you guessed, that the word "Dachshund" was at one time used for these animals but has come a little out of fashion si
The explantion is, as you guessed, that the word "Dachshund" was at one time used for these animals but has come a little out of fashion si
00
[nq:1]Greetings. During lunch with my German colleagues today the following question arose: why is it that English has adopted a German word, "Dachshund" (lit. "badger dog"), to refer to a particular breed of long-bodied, short-legged German dogs,[/nq]
OED's earliest cite is for dachshound
[nq:1]when German itself does not use this word for the same breed?[/nq]
Most entertaining in my
OED's earliest cite is for dachshound
[nq:1]when German itself does not use this word for the same breed?[/nq]
Most entertaining in my
00
[nq:1]And isn't it a throat-cleary "DAKHS-hoont" ('daxshunt) in German?[/nq]
The sequence "chs" is /ks/. (Or is it /xs/ realized as (ks)?) Examples: sechs (= "six") (zEks), Fuchs = "fox" (****).
The sequence "chs" is /ks/. (Or is it /xs/ realized as (ks)?) Examples: sechs (= "six") (zEks), Fuchs = "fox" (****).
00
[nq:1]I've got etymological dictionaries for English but not for German. Merriam-Webster says that "dachshund" entered English around 1882.[/nq]
Hiss and boo for Merriam-Webster's rigidity. They omitted Matthew Arnold's poem, "Poor Matthias" (in ), and, therefore, "Max," "a dachshound without blot." Arnold, who probably did introduce the word into English, wrote "Poor Matthias" in 1880-1881, s
Hiss and boo for Merriam-Webster's rigidity. They omitted Matthew Arnold's poem, "Poor Matthias" (in ), and, therefore, "Max," "a dachshound without blot." Arnold, who probably did introduce the word into English, wrote "Poor Matthias" in 1880-1881, s
0
Related Questions